DoorDash Is Warning People Who Don’t Pre-Tip That Their Food Could Arrive Cold

Not everyone likes to tip BEFORE being served, but if REFUSING to pre-tip is a hill you’re willing to die on?  Well, buddy, you better be cool with sitting on that hill, munching on your COLD FRIES.

DoorDash is testing out a new pop-up notification that warns customers who don’t tip.  It says, “Orders with NO TIP might take longer to get delivered . . . are you sure you want to continue?  Dashers can choose which orders they want to do.  Orders that take longer to be accepted tend to result in slower delivery.”

Now, DoorDash says they haven’t changed anything behind the scenes.  They’re just letting customers know that there IS a difference between pre-tipping and tipping AFTER the delivery, which you can still do.  Here’s why:  When you place an order, DoorDash notifies ALL the Dashers in the area . . . along with a “guaranteed” rate for accepting that delivery.  The system places different values on different deliveries based on things like:  Time, distance, and “desirability of the order.”  Your tip is also included in that formula.  The Dashers don’t find out your exact tip amount or the breakdown of their total haul for the delivery until AFTER the delivery is completed.

This goes without saying, but Dashers are quicker to accept the gigs that are more valuable or rewarding.  And experienced drivers can tell by the numbers if there is zero tip, because they get familiar with the various default quotes from DoorDash.

If there’s no pre-tip, they have no way of knowing if you’re someone who will tip them after or if you’re someone who doesn’t tip at all.  So, they might prefer to wait for a better order instead of accept one with a lower quote.

So, if you don’t tip ahead, your delivery might be sitting in the queue longer, while your food is ready, and getting cold.